Ned Vizzini

Badly in need of self-confidence and a change of image, high school nerd Jeremy Heere swallows a pill-sized super computer that is supposed to help him get whatever he wants.

Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbours...

Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor Walker, aged fifteen to eight, must rely on a mysterious book to face the Wind Witch and her father, the Storm King, who have kidnapped Dr. and Mrs. Walker and brought them to a strange world of magic.

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling House of Secrets—hailed by J. K. Rowling as "a breakneck, jam-packed roller coaster of an adventure"—this second installment by Hollywood director Chris Columbus (of Harry Potter fame) and bestselling author Ned Vizzini (It's Kind of a Funny Story) is full of even more explosive twists and turns.

Since the siblings' last adventure, life in the Walker household is

...

Sometimes what's in your head isn't as crazy as you think ... that's certainly true for Craig, a stressed-out teenager who checks himself into a mental health clinic for some time out. What he finds instead is an unlikely mentor, a potential new romance and an opportunity to begin anew. Charming, witty and smart, it's a coming-of-age story that's kind of a funny story.